Boeing and NASA’s Starliner mission has exceeded its 45-day battery window by docking to the International Space Station. The capsule was initially approved to stay at the ISS for up to 45 days, but with no set return date for the astronauts, the stay has been extended indefinitely, and NASA and Boeing have said the batteries in the capsule are performing well. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. Monday marked the 46th day of their stay there. The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, expressed confidence in early July that they would return safely, despite the delay. “We are confident that if we have a problem with the International Space Station, we can get on board the spacecraft, undock, talk to our team and figure out the best way to get back,” Williams said at a press conference on Wednesday. Sunday would have been the end of the 45-day window for which the mission was approved, but NASA and Boeing said the batteries are performing well and the capsule can safely remain beyond the window at the ISS. “Do they want to put this behind them? I absolutely do. But I would share that if it took another week or 10 days, no one would be overly concerned,” said Ray Lugo, CEO of the Center for Space Science Propulsion and a space expert. Starliner has been plagued by problems, including two pre-launch inspections and a helium leak inside the spacecraft. On Earth, Boeing and NASA engineers are testing the thrusters to figure out what happened during the flight to the ISS. They say the astronauts can return safely at any time if necessary. NASA and Boeing have said they hope to return the astronauts within the next few weeks. So far, no date has been given, and no indication that they plan to use a different spacecraft to bring them home. At this point, they are confident they can return Wilmore and Williams on Starliner.
Boeing and NASA’s Starliner mission exceeded 45 days of battery life while docked to the International Space Station.
The capsule was originally approved to stay on the International Space Station for up to 45 days, but with no set return date for the astronauts, the stay has been extended indefinitely, and NASA and Boeing have said the batteries in the capsule are in good working order.
The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. Monday marked its 46th day since arrival.
The two astronauts on board, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, expressed confidence in early July that they would return safely despite the delays.
“If there is a problem with the International Space Station, we are confident that we will be able to board the spacecraft, undock, talk to our team and figure out the best way to get home, if necessary,” Williams said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Sunday marked the end of the 45-day period for which the mission was approved, but NASA and Boeing said the batteries were functioning properly and the capsule was safe to remain at the ISS beyond that time.
“Do they want this to be over? I absolutely believe they do. But I haven’t heard them say they’re all that worried if it’s another week or 10 days or so,” said Ray Lugo, a space expert and CEO of the Center for Space Science Propulsion.
Starliner has been plagued by a number of problems, including two attempted pre-launch checks and a helium leak inside the spacecraft.
Back on Earth, Boeing and NASA engineers are testing the thrusters to try to understand what happened during the flight to the ISS.
They say the astronauts can always return safely if necessary.
NASA and Boeing say they hope to return astronauts within the next few weeks. So far, no date has been given, and there’s no indication that they plan to use a different spacecraft for the return journey.
For now, they’re confident they can get Wilmore and Williams home aboard the Starliner.
